


Outside the Transformation

by wolfdragonful



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A post I made, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-17 19:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16980822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfdragonful/pseuds/wolfdragonful
Summary: The last week's not been exactly easy on Marinette. Between her private life, her school life, her superhero life, and how they all interact, it's been a long week. Lila's been no help either. Of course, it all comes to a bit of a head during a class break.Tikki is not going to be all that pleased after school.





	1. The Class Break

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a post I made on my Tumblr. The post kind of blew up and is most definitely based on several fan theories and fan comics (specifically one made by xJayJu). The Tumblr post in question is at: http://wolfdragongirl.tumblr.com/post/180726894884/miraculous-ladybug-thought-during-a-class-break-in  
> The comic it is totaly based off of is at: https://xjjart.tumblr.com/post/178497178876/xjayju-based-off-this-hc-by
> 
> It's currently marked as a multichapter. This may not be the case.

The class break was in full swing when Marinette finally managed to pry herself away from Principal Damocles’ office. Lila’s voice rang across the courtyard, the occasional coo of admiration echoing after it like a duckling waddling after its mother. Marinette rolled her eyes and trudged down the steps, bracing herself for what she was about to see.

As expected, Lila had taken up a perch on a table at one end of the courtyard, seating herself in such a way that kept her head above everyone else’s. Lila was, also as expected, surrounded by almost all of the rest of her class. Chloe – who was back from a trip with her mother – and Adrien were the only ones standing slightly separate from the crowd fawning over Lila, their expressions ranging from uncomfortable to outright annoyed. The crowd was slightly larger than Marinette would have expected if not for the fact that the courtyard was filled with two other classes. The majority of the other two classes were also hovering around Lila’s little perch. Marinette tried to not be viciously pleased to find that Kagami and Luka were standing completely separate from the group (like Chloe as Adrien was stuck standing next to Nino and Alya), both sending Lila skeptical glances as she spoke of…. Marinette tuned in for a second to catch _Jagged Stone_ before returning to ignoring the conversation.

Marinette marched herself past the crowd to an abandoned bench as Lila provided her adoring fans about how Jagged’s new album was going to be amazing and her not as subtle claims that she might have been an inspiration for a song or two. Marinette pressed her brow against the wood of the bench back, her back turned to the crowd.

Her week had not been going all that well and she needed to focus on things not involving Lila.

The holidays were coming up and her parents’ bakery had been swamped with a ton of last minute orders; all of which were huge and time consuming. Along with that, there were several upcoming birthday parties and a few anniversaries that had had their orders in for the last two months. To help her parents keep the store front running in a timely manner, Marinette had taken to running the register while her father baked and her mother double checked the inventory. Of course, there were a few times that Marinette had checked the inventory or run errands and deliveries as well as run the register.

The school was quickly approaching midterms as well as attempting to prepare for the annual holiday party. Marinette had _several_ projects coming up; both personal and for school. As the Class Representative, however, she was also embroiled in the cumulative effort of coming up with a theme for the holiday party with the other Class Representatives. A party that, Principal Damocles hoped her parents could provide treats for. Treats that, if he wanted _any_ hope of having at all, he’d need to order _tonight_. So, the Class Representatives were going to have to have an emergency meeting after school to decide on a theme so the treats could be ordered. She was going to have to call her mother before class to let her know of the coming storm – for this felt like one of those ‘comes in threes’ types of helter-skelter last-minute orders borne from a ‘sense of urgency’ finally kicking into gear and Marinette had seen enough of those to last her a lifetime of nightmares.

Jagged had – partially through Penny and partially on his own – commissioned her for a new album cover as well. Penny, having thoroughly apologized for going into Marinette’s room and revealing her crush in its entirety, had also asked for Marinette to possibly think up some designs for an upcoming Jagged Stone tour. Apparently, Jagged wanted a whole new wardrobe for his upcoming tour and he wanted at least one _Marinette Original_ in the collection somewhere. Size didn’t matter, there just _had_ to be something she’d made present. Penny suggested a light scarf or a belt. Marinette wasn’t sure she was going to be able to do it between school, Luka’s inviting her to one of his gigs, Kagami demanding she practice fencing more earnestly, the bakery, and her nightly patrols.

She sighed.

The nightly patrols were the newest addition to her schedule and were proving to only be _somewhat_ useful. Since Lila’s return, there had been a strange spike in re-akumatizations all over Paris. Most of the time, it was a random occurrence of someone falling back into an old insecurity or fear. It was happening randomly, causing Marinette to wonder what was causing them. She’d not seen anything untoward occurring at school – Chloe’s admirable dislike of Lila aside, she’d been in a particularly good mood since Hero’s Day and had not been the cause of an akuma for _weeks_. Hawkmoth’s powers detected strong emotions, certainly, but Marinette had seen those strong emotions be set off by the smallest of things (a baby not getting a treat, a child having a nightmare, being called out for lying, etc.). Without the ability to _also_ sense those emotions and to sense them _before_ Hawkmoth could, Marinette and Chat Noir had taken to nightly patrols with the hope that their presence would give all of Paris a confidence boost.

There were still akumas though so Marinette wasn’t certain how well it was working.

Then, there was Penny’s somewhat unhelpful warning of how Marinette’s wall of Adrien Agreste photos could be construed if seen by the wrong people. Apparently, Jagged had had a few stalkers along the line and Penny had learned to spot concerning trends rather quickly. As Marinette was young and naïve, Penny had given the fair warning that walls of photos tended to be frowned upon. Thankfully, it seemed that Mr. Agreste had not seen the footage and so had not seen the need to possibly take action. Still, there was the issue of the _rest_  of Paris having seen it.

_“It’s not like you have his schedule though so I’m sure no one will really mind as long as it’s not continued,” Penny had chuckled. “Just take down the photos, okay?”_

She’d shredded the schedule and gotten rid of almost every single photo the moment she’d hung up with Penny. She hadn’t told Alya either but, as Alya had not been providing her with new photos for a few weeks, it probably didn’t matter anyway.

She yawned. The week had been stupidly long. She was lucky as it was that she was getting homework done on time. She really just wanted a nap.

“Marinette!”

She blinked owlishly as she raised her head, brow raised questioningly towards the call. Chloe stood a few feet away, her eyes bulging widely as she pointed a shaking finger towards Marinette’s shoulder. Her mouth was gaping open, jaw flapping as she garbled noises that were close to the gibberish Marinette tended to spout around Adrien while panicked.

“Hmm?” she mumbled, blinking tiredly. Luka appeared to Chloe’s right, eyes equally as wide as Chloe’s. Kagami skidded to a haphazard halt next to him, face twisted in panic. It wasn’t a very good look for her.

“Marinette,” Luka said, hands up in a placating manner. “Take a deep breath for me, okay?”

“Huh?”

“Think happy thoughts,” Kagami said, her hands also rising in a placating manner. Chloe nodded enthusiastically as she mimicked the two’s posture, taking a hesitant step towards Marinette.

“Very happy thoughts,” Chloe said.

“Marinette!” Alya screeched, Nino bodily holding her back.

She was putting up a struggle but Nino was holding firm as he backed away from Lila’s table. Lila was suddenly standing on the table top, eyes wary as she glanced around her adoring fans. Her adoring fans that were all edging away from the table as they stared towards Marinette as if she’d grown an extra head. Adrien was taking a nervous step towards her, green eyes wide with fright.

“Marinette,” Luka called, voice soft and gentle. “Mari, whatever it is, we can talk it out.”

She was about to ask what he was on about when something tickled her earlobe. She raised a hand to her shoulder, a tickly tingle crawling over her fingers. She let her hand fall back a bit, eyes falling to the creature crawling over her knuckles. The courtyard was deathly silent as she gazed at the purple and black butterfly sitting on her hand, wings flapping against each other languidly.

She continued to stare at it, Tikki’s words of encouragement a few weeks back ringing distantly in the back of her mind. The nervous energy of the courtyard fell away as she focused on the tiny butterfly. Honestly, Hawkmoth’s akumas were sort of pretty. Not quite as pretty as their uncorrupted versions but designing clothes had allowed her to spot beauty in even the most mundane of items. She’d made a hat based on pigeon feathers, for Christ’s sake. While she wasn’t wholly proud of the initial album cover she’d made for Jagged Stone, it was still been worth the practice.

She took a deep breath, watching as the butterfly calmed and went still on its little perch. Distantly, she knew she’d passed a test. Her week had been long and showed no real sign of going anywhere near the realm of ‘better’. Yet, she’d weathered far worse holiday order rushes. Sure, she’d bit off more than she could probably chew but all she had to do was talk to Penny and explain that she was overworked. Maybe, she could even lighten her workload if she scaled back on the designing front for a little bit. She could always do homework while at the register too; she’d done it several times before. The nightly patrols could probably be taken in shifts; Chat might not enjoy not seeing her every night but surely, he’d understand if she explained it well.

The week had been long but there was always tomorrow.

She pressed a quick kiss the tiny akuma, the courtyard gasping. It shuddered under her lips before returning to its brilliant white and flying away once more. She waved goodbye at it, a soft smile crawling over her face. She couldn’t really blame the poor thing for coming towards the brightest beacon it could see, after all. Hawkmoth’s akumas were subject to his will and his powers were dependent on strong emotions. She’d been feeling quite a few valid emotions that had bundled up and become strong enough to warrant his attention. It wasn’t the first time it had happened either. Yet, accepting the emotions and understanding them was better than bottling them up and trying to pretend they didn’t exist.

“Mari?”

She blinked, her attention falling back to the three standing in front of her. Luka and Kagami were both staring at her with amazement. Chloe’s jaw was practically on the floor before she snapped it closed and flicked a loose bit of hair back from her brow. Her eyes stayed nervous though, awe flitting in at the corners. The rest of the classes were staring.

“What?” she asked, earning a few more dropped jaws around the courtyard. Even _Lila_ looked genuinely shocked as Luka burst out laughing.

“You’re _amazing_ , Marinette!” Luka laughed, leaping forward to hug her as Kagami smacked her hand to her brow with a heavy sigh. “Though, seriously, if you need to talk, I’ll be more than happy to listen.”

“Oh, uh…Thanks,” she smiled, scratching the back of her neck. “It’s just the bakery’s been a little swamped with last minute orders so I’ve been handling the register.”

“That’s cool,” Luka smiled as Kagami stepped forward.

“In other words, your schedule is filling up,” Kagami stated, arms crossed over her chest. Marinette smiled sheepishly and nodded. “I apologize for pushing for you to join me in my fencing practice more often. I should have considered your schedule.”

“Oh jeeze,” Luka gasped, arms loosening around her shoulders. “My gig! I should have thought about your schedule before inviting you!”

She smiled, a small chuckle falling from her lips. “It’s alright,” she smiled. “I should have been a little more up front too. I’d still love to hang out with you both more often so…if it’s at all possible, could we trade e-mails and numbers? That way, we can avoid miscommunications in the future.”

“Sounds perfectly reasonable,” Kagami stated as she reached for her phone. Luka already had his out as he nodded enthusiastically.

Alya rushed over as she and Luka traded numbers, Kagami leaning towards them with her phone at the ready. Chloe was shooting Alya a rather dirty look as Nino stumbled after her, sheepish and eyes twitching about the courtyard; likely in search of the butterfly. Adrien joined the group, eyes wide with awe and worry as Kagami read off her phone number to Marinette.

“Are you alright, Marinette?” Adrien asked, his voice barely audible past Alya’s endless and repeating questions. He and Nino dodged Alya’s flailing arms – she was still asking endless questions – as Luka gently tugged Marinette’s phone from her shaking hands.

“What were those last few numbers, Kagami?” Luka asked as Kagami deftly spun Alya away from the bench. Chloe danced away from her and settled on the bench on Marinette’s left.

“I’m fine,” Marinette smiled as Luka and Kagami fixed the fumbled numbers in her phone. “It’s just been a really long week at the bakery. I’ve just over scheduled myself a bit but its fixable.”

“Strange,” Lila’s sickly-sweet voice called out. Nino and Alya leaned out of her way, Adrien taking a step out of her way. She struck a pose, hip cocked to the side and a hand at her ear as she raised an inquisitive brow at Marinette. “How did you even _do_ that?”

Luka leaned his shoulder against Marinette’s as Kagami glared at Lila.

“It’s an apt question,” Lila said with a casual shrug and mean smirk. “That akuma turned white.”

Marinette shrugged, honestly unsure how she’d manage to de-evilize the akuma outside of her transformation. All she’d done was acknowledge the possible ways of fixing her current situation. As Tikki said, those that thought their situation was unfixable were susceptible to possession. She’d found her answer to the situation. Still, it didn’t explain how she de-evilized the akuma.

“Who cares?” Luka asked. “It’s gone and that’s what matters. Marinette’s alright, there’s no akuma attacking, and we’ve just seen something kind of amazing. Who cares how she did it?”

“Quite,” Kagami declared with a heavy sigh, handing Marinette her phone back with a quick smile. A smile that disappeared as if it had been an illusion as she turned her attention back to Lila. “It’s done and a crisis has been averted. Let’s move forward.”

“How’s some hot chocolate sound, Mari?” Luka asked, hand gently rubbing her shoulder as he smiled.

“That…Sounds wonderful, honestly.”

“Perfect,” Chloe declared, flipping her ponytail with a flick of her wrist. “I’ll go and speak with the teachers while you do that. Let them know that an akuma attack was averted by our Everyday Ladybug.”

She smiled – kindly – at Marinette before turning on her heel to stalk off to a teacher. Luka and Kagami didn’t waste any time, catching up one of Marinette’s arms and dragging her to her feet as they chattered between each other on the best and closest place to get hot chocolate.

“Marinette,” Alya called.

“I’m fine, Alya,” Marinette smiled. “I’m in good hands too so…enjoy the rest of the break, yeah?”

Alya pouted as Marinette was dragged away, Nino and Adrien flanking her with confused expressions on their faces.

“If you want, we _can_ invite them,” Luka whispered.

“No,” Marinette sighed. “It’s alright. I’m…I kind of don’t really want them along, honestly.”

It wasn’t her best friend who’d spotted the akuma, after all. It had been _Chloe_ , her old nemesis. As much as she appreciated that Alya had tried rush to her assistance, she still sort of wished Alya hadn’t been across the courtyard in the first place. Yet, she couldn’t continue holding Alya’s fascination with Lila against her anymore either. It was becoming unhealthy.

“Okay,” Luka said, hand patting her back as Kagami patted her shoulder with a sage nod. “I’m also thinking brownies. Do those sound good?”

“Those sound fantastic.”

“Perfect,” Kagami stated. “Our treat.”

Marinette smiled, hands rising away from her purse in surrender. She tried to not think too hard on how _Tikki_ was going to take all of this.


	2. The Aftermath - Adrien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien gets home and is more than a little confused. He and Plagg have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was asked previously about why Luka is present at the school in the first chapter. According to the Wikia, Luka is anywhere from 15-17 and is also a possible student at the same school as Marinette and Adrien (this last bit is also on Kagami's page hence why she's present). I'm also very American and have no real understanding of the French school system. The wikia points out that a Collège spans grades 6-9 which is equivelent to my schooling's Junior High (6-8th grade) plus the first year of High School (freshman year). I was 14 in 8th grade so, Luka is here because he's either a student (hey, canon, let us see more students and classes please) or he was visiting his sister on either a class break or an off period.  
> The shorter version of this is I can't tell age in real people let alone ficitonal characters. I blame anime.

Adrien rushed past Nathalie towards his room, a soft greeting slipping past his lips as he bounded up the steps with speed rivaling that of his counterpart. He’d hear about it later when his guard and Nathalie informed his father about his odd behavior. He wouldn’t blame Nathalie for keeping his reclusive father aware of what was going on with the household and the business. It was part of her job and Adrien could respect that.

His room was quiet, the space overwhelmingly large and bright as he flicked the lights on. Not that he really needed to as the large windows were the main source of light in the room. He tossed his bag onto the couch and started pacing. He had to think for a bit. Had to figure out what was going on. Ladybug was always able to get a hold of new information before him so the possibility that she hadn’t heard of what’d happened today was slim. Yet, if she _hadn’t_ heard of it, he had to have something solid to give her.

He started with what he knew.

Hawkmoth’s powers appeared to cover all of Paris when it came to his ability to sense an emotion strong enough for him to corrupt. At the rate he was going, he might have managed to get through almost half of Paris if he didn’t do repeat akumatizations. Of course, Adrien wasn’t stupid enough to not recognize that several of the victims had been tied to at least one student in his class if they weren’t a member of the school. Jagged Stone, Penny, and few others were probably the only ones that weren’t directly tied to a student while still finding themselves in situations so demanding that they seemed overwhelming and insurmountable.

He’d always be confused by the Pigeon Man but he couldn’t really be blamed for that.

At the sight of the little akuma butterfly, he’d been ready to have to go and transform. It was his job as Chat Noir to assist Ladybug in saving the day and stopping akumas. Of course, there was more to the issue than just that; as usual. When he’d seen that akuma on Marinette’s shoulder, he’d seen a haze of red. His tongue had itched to yell his activation phrase in front of his classmates; secret identity be damned. This was _Marinette_ he was going to have to save. Marinette, the closest thing to a living definition – aside from Ladybug, of course – of a decent human being.

As it stood, he and Marinette were the only ones in their class that hadn’t been akumatized. The whole point of the party naming Marinette the “Everyday Ladybug” of Collège Françoise Dupont had been partly to help instill a sense of confidence in the only other person he knew had never been akumatized along with settling the rest of the classes nerves a bit further after the massive akuma attack that had preceded the party. She’d helped so many of his classmates grow as people that he also wanted to reward her for all her unsung work somehow. He couldn’t imagine how the class would have reacted to Marinette being akumatized. If it was anything like the reaction to Madame Bustier’s – albeit somewhat accidental – akumatization, he wasn’t sure he _wanted_ to imagine it.

Yet, of everyone in the yard that had spotted the situation first, it had been Chloe who had a rocky history with Marinette on a _good day_. While Chloe had made great strides in her personal growth since her second akumatization, he was a bit perturbed that it hadn’t been one of Marinette’s closest friends who’d noticed it first. Yet, he’d also almost missed her becoming a target for Hawkmoth too. Some friend he was turning out to be. He still wasn’t sure if Luka and Kagami would have been able to calm Marinette down from Hawkmoth’s influence if that akuma had managed to get a hold a vessel.

Not that he had to worry about that though, right?

He had to talk to Plagg.

“Did you have to _throw_ the bag?” Plagg grumbled as he floated next to Adrien’s head.

“Sorry Plagg,” he mumbled. “I’ve…got a lot on my mind at the moment.” He took a breath, licking his lips as he wrung his hands together. “I have a question, actually.”

Plagg hummed, crossing his little paws over his chest as he floated in the air. His green eyes were narrowed as if he was waiting for Adrien to ask one of his typical questions on Ladybug and flirting. Probably justified considering how often those questions turned towards whinging about how he couldn’t get his feelings across. Gift baskets of cheese, the more stinky the better, were not the way to a girl’s heart; despite what Plagg would have him believe.

“What is it?” Plagg asked.

“Something happened at school,” Adrien stated.

“Another girl fall for you, Lover Boy?” Plagg jested.

Adrien shook his head, a hand rising to scratch at the back of his neck. He caught Plagg’s eyes widen slightly as he scratched his neck nervously which made him a little more nervous about what he was about to talk about. Plagg being serious wasn’t an impossible thing to see but it _was_ rare.

“What is it?” Plagg asked. “What happened?”

“Marinette was almost akumatized,” he blurted, his chest suddenly a bit lighter now that he’d said it aloud.

He’d gone quiet after Luka and Kagami had escorted Marinette away and Chloe had gone to speak to the teachers about the situation. The whole courtyard had gone silent, actually. Even Lila was speechless – and how refreshing was that?! They’d all been shuffled back to class, the lesson dragging for what seemed like _hours_ since everyone was distracted. Marinette didn’t return to class. Juleka had been on her phone for most of the remaining hours of class, likely texting her brother to attempt to get an update. No one had made eye contact with anyone – though, Lila might have been angling to get his attention while he’d been lost in thought.

Plagg’s reaction, however, made him shrink back to that pile of nerves that had bundled around him back at school. The kwami of destruction wasn’t easily surprised by many things. He’d always been a bit blasé about any new akumas, after all. The powers they exhibited were typically met with slight disinterest. Sometimes, Plagg would react with annoyance to some of the powers but it wasn’t something Adrien saw often. Besides, most of Plagg’s annoyance came from being woken up from a deep nap. Currently, however, Plagg was watching him with wide eyes and an open mouth. His paws hung limply at his side, hanging low as his tail flopped towards the floor.

“What?!” Plagg cried after a – _very_ – long moment.

Adrien flinched, shushing his friend desperately as he glanced towards his door. If Nathalie heard Plagg, she’d come to know what was making the noise. He and Ladybug had managed to avoid revealing their identities during the Dark Owl situation. He couldn’t let his secret fall into the open thanks to Plagg’s loud yelling. Plagg would hide, certainly, but it was the principal of the thing.

“What do you mean, Marinette nearly got akumatized?” Plagg gasped, flying into Adrien’s face. Adrien bent back, his back aching at the awkward angle as Plagg glared down at him. “Is she alright?”

“She’s fine,” Adrien stated, taking a step back so he could stand properly again. “It’s just…Have you ever heard of someone purifying an akuma without being…Ladybug?”

Plagg’s jaw dropped again, his eyes practically encompassing his tiny head as he stared.

“What’re you talking about, Kid?”

“Marinette…She…,” Adrien blurted, hands flapping a bit as he tried to find a good way to explain it. He sighed. The blunt way was probably the best course to follow. “An akuma showed up during the class break. It landed on Marinette’s shoulder. No one would have noticed if Chloe hadn’t raised the alarm, honestly.”

Plagg growled something under his breath then, his tiny body vibrating. His tiny paws were balled up at his sides and shook as Plagg bared his teeth in a nasty snarl. His large, green eyes were narrowed and glowing with rage as he grumbled. A long moment passed before Plagg took a deep breath, paws rising and sweeping down as if to banish whatever was running through his head at that moment.

“Go on,” he said, voice tight.

Adrien took a moment to clear his throat, combing a hand through his hair.

“We all froze up,” he admitted, shame curling in his stomach. “Well, everyone but Kagami, Luka, and Chloe. They all rushed over to Marinette to talk her down from akumatizing.”

“This all happened during your class break, right?” Plagg asked. Adrien flinched at the serious tone of his kwami. Typically, Plagg was only serious about cheese and even that was treated as a bit of a joke.

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “You were in my bag back in the classroom.”

“Seeing that you didn’t come racing in to transform,” Plagg reasoned, crossing his tiny arms, “I’m going to guess it was successful?”

“Kind of,” Adrien mumbled, glancing towards his feet. “It’s more that, they all said the right things but…It’s like Marinette didn’t need them to.”

Plagg frowned, floating a little closer with his head cocked to the side. Adrien licked his lips, wringing his hands together.

“She got the akuma onto her hand and just…stared at it for a moment,” he explained. “Then, she gave it a kiss and it…” he flapped his hands again, chewing at his lip. “It was purified.”

Plagg was quiet for a moment, eyes darting over Adrien’s face as he thought over the situation. He floated away from Adrien lazily with a sigh, a paw scratching the back of his neck.

“I suppose there’s no real point in worrying about it then,” Plagg mumbled. His eyes, distant and filled with concern that Adrien saw so rarely he’d always recognize it when it appeared, betrayed him.

“But,” Adrien mumbled, “ _have_ you heard of such circumstances?”

Plagg gave a soft, questioning hum as his eyes slipped to meet Adrien’s again. He gave another heavy sigh.

“No,” he whispered. “I haven’t.”

Adrien gaped at the tiny black cat in shock. “It’s never happened before?”

Plagg shrugged.

“It’s not that such things haven’t happened before,” he explained. “Hawkmoth’s powers really only work if someone feels they can’t escape the feelings that alerted Hawkmoth in the first place. Since he’s creating villains through negative emotions, it’s easier for him to get control of someone who can’t see their way out of the situation that caused the emotions in question. Basically, if someone can see that there’s a way out of the situation causing them pain, the akuma can’t land.”

Adrien blinked, amazed at Plagg. He’d wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Plagg talk for so long with such a serious tone before. It was like he was talking to a completely different person. A person who could easily wipe away any unease he had about the akuma. If an akuma couldn’t land, it couldn’t possess an item. If it couldn’t gain a possessed item, it couldn’t grant someone powers. No powers meant no akumatization which meant Paris remained safe. Yet, if the akuma was only made incapable of landing, then how had Marinette purified it?

“But,” he started, voice catching as Plagg shook his head.

“I can’t tell you how she might have purified the akuma,” Plagg stated. “I’ve never seen such a thing before; outside of Ladybug. The only thing I can think of is that Marinette might have found a way to accept her negative feelings without being controlled by them.”

“Accept her negative feelings?” Adrien mused. “How would that even be done?”

Plagg shrugged again. “I don’t really know.”

Adrien sighed, going to flop onto the couch. Plagg settled on the cushion next to him in utter silence, tail twitching occasionally as he stared into the distance. For a moment, Adrien humored himself with wondering what Plagg might be thinking about.

“Did Marinette say anything?” Plagg asked.

That…was unexpected.

Very unexpected.

“Uh…Oh, right,” Adrien mumbled. “She mentioned that her parent’s bakery’s been a bit busy lately and that she’d over scheduled herself. She said it was fixable though.” He frowned then. “Then Lila asked her how she’d purified the akuma only to have Luka and Kagami shut her down.”

“Knew I liked those two,” Plagg snickered.

“Yeah, they’re really nice.”

“Anything else you can remember?”

“Luka and Kagami took Marinette for hot chocolate, Chloe told the teachers that Marinette probably wouldn’t come back to class after nearly being akumatized, Nino spent the rest of the day comforting Alya.”

“Alya didn’t go with them?” Plagg asked. “Aren’t she and Marinette really close?”

Adrien frowned again. “I thought they were but…Lila’s got so many of our classmates hanging on her every word that…I don’t know if Marinette’s been able to hang out with Alya much lately.”

Plagg gave another soft hum.

“Can’t say I’d blame her,” he muttered. “Wonder how Sugar Cube’s gonna take it though.”

“Sugar cube?”

“You have your Lady. I have my Sugar Cube.”

He hummed in response, thinking over the idea of Plagg having someone like that. It was almost impossible to imagine, really. Still, it was nice to try imagining it.

He’d have to talk to his Lady about the situation soon. It was possible that Ladybug’s kwami would want to hear about this amazing impossibility. His Lady was amazing and would probably be capable of finding out how Marinette had escaped an akuma. If his Lady couldn’t figure it out, her kwami was likely to know. There was Master Fu too. With all of his experience, there was the possibility that he’d heard of something like this before. Maybe he’d even seen it before. He would probably wake in the middle of the night to find Plagg had left a black sock double tonight. He wasn’t sure if he’d mind it either; it would just mean Plagg was taking this seriously. He wouldn’t see her until tomorrow’s patrol though. He had solo patrol tonight.

He’d swing by Marinette’s just in case.


End file.
